Useful Pages

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Just a few short items that landed on my desk:--After 133 years, the government of the United States is ceasing publication of Statistical Abstract of the United States. Long a mainstay of libraries' ready reference collections, the 1000 page annual fell victim to a cost-saving program. Bernan Press and Proquest have announced their intention to keep SA alive.--To apply a library-centric filter to your voting preferences, see the ALA's Legislative Scorecard.--It's looking like the Minuteman Library Network will not acquire bestselling Fifty Shades of Grey for Overdrive because of its erotic content. Individual libraries are free to use their own funds to buy the ebook version.--Margaret Atwood on the strike at Toronto Public Library: "People support libraries, but sometimes don't understand that it takes people to make them run. Just as it takes writers to write new books..."--RL

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

It's a great season for Massachusetts genealogists! First we hear that the 1940 Census will be available on April 2. (See the Mar. 12 post)Then, in the March 20 Globe there was an article about Delene and Jay Holbrook, an Oxford couple that spent 30 years collecting vital records from the dusty basements of town clerks around the state. In all, they accumulated 17 million records dating from 1620 on up. Of course the information itself is public and free, but with the added value of actually collecting it, the Holbrooks were able to sell the whole treasure to Ancestry.com. To do a search, find your favorite founding father, or just have a look, come to the Library to access the Ancestry database. (At the Ancestry home page, look for the menu titled More Collections. Choose Recent, and them Massachusetts Town Vital Collections.) Ancestry will also have the 1940 Census.--RLPlease note that as of March 21, not all data was loaded into the Ancestry database.

Dubbed "the American Tolkien" by "TIME" magazine, Martin has earned international acclaim for his monumental cycle of epic fantasy. Now the #1 "New York Times"-bestselling author delivers the fifth book in his landmark series--as both familiar faces and surprising new forces vie for a foothold in a fragmented empire. …More

Richard Whitestone is an Elemental Earth Master. Blaming himself for the death of his beloved wife in childbirth, he has sworn never to set eyes on his daughter. But when he finally sees her, a dark plan takes shape in his twisted mind. …More

"Hammered" is the third title in an original series about Atticus O'Sullivan, the last of the Druids. In this final outing, Viking vampire Leif Helgarson asks Atticus to help take down Thor, the Norse god of thunder. Original. …More

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Ever wonder where your mandibula is? Been caught out in the rain one too many times to arrive at a library that's just closed? Well, years back the answer to shell out a few hundred dollars and get your own copy of the Encyclopedia Britannica. The advent of the internet began the iconic publication's demise and the later appearance of Wikipedia all but assured its irrelevancy to the general public so it was to some people's surprise that, when the company announce earlier this week that they're dropping its print editions in favor of a digital version, the Encylopedia Britannica was even still around. I'll always fondly remember the commercials, however, which spell out for you the dire consequences of not having its multi-volume set at your house to help you out of sticky scholarly situations.

Monday, March 12, 2012

For everyone who's interested in genealogy, the US Census from 1940 will be available to the public on April 2. Census information is kept confidential for 70 years and then released to the public. This is the year for the 1940 information to make its debut!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

We are so fortunate to have a library as large, well-appointed and well-provisioned as the Wellesley Free Library. It's a pleasure to work in, study in, visit, find just the right books and attend a cool program in. Shutesbury residents don't have quite as good...--RL